Leyen Wins 1st Since ’11 / Prizer Wins 2nd in 2 Weeks at Berks Major

The PJBT continued its 17th Season with its Final Regular Season Major Event of the Year.  Major #9 of the Year was a Singles Major at Berks Lanes in Sinking Spring, PA.  The event saw 69 bowlers take on the WTBA Seoul Pattern.  We had 31 athletes in Scratch and 38 in Handicap.  The format for this major was a finals format we never did before….worked out to an interesting and exciting finish.  The format was 6 games qualifying….top 40% rolled another 3 games of match play….and then the top 6 advanced to our mini-eliminator final.  The final was seeds 1,3, and 5 in one eliminator while 2,4, and 6 were in the other.  Each mini-eliminator bowled a 1 game match….low score out.  The field went from 6 to 4.  Then the 2 remaining bowlers bowled each other…winner advancing/non-winner out.  Field reduced from 4 to 2.  The 2 mini-eliminator winners bowled a 1 game final for the title.

In Scratch, Tristan Leyen of Maryland, captured his first PJBT title since 2011.  Back in October 2011, Leyen had won his 1st ever PJBT in Handicap Division at East Lincoln Lanes in York, PA.  This event was his 1st ever Scratch Division title.  Leyen shot solid games in qualifying of 239, 226, 190, 203, 221, and 176.  He stood at 1255 (+55) and was in 3rd place after qualifying.  He trailed leader Brian Kennedy by 110 pins.  The 6 game qualifying cut (12th place) was -59 for 6 games.  In Match Play, Leyen made up much of the deficit quickly.  He won all 3 of his match play matches with games of 224, 195, and 247.  He sat at +211 and was seeded 2nd entering the final format.  He only still trailed new tournament leader Alex Glinski.

The finalists were #1 Alex Glinski, #2 Tristan Leyen, #3 Brian Kennedy, #4 Daniel Althouse, #5 Zachary Dragovits, and #6 Brian Gaines.  In Eliminator 1 it was Glinski, Kennedy, and Dragovits.  Kennedy & Glinski maintained a distance from Dragovits who struggled.  Kennedy shot 225, Glinski 207 and Dragovits was eliminated with 168.  In Eliminator 2 it was Leyen, Althouse, and Gaines.  This match went back and forth.  Leyen was up early and Althouse/Gaines battled for 2nd position.  Then later in the game Gaines strung some strikes and the advancing spot came down to Leyen and Althouse.  Althouse struck out and shot 186.  Leyen was forced to double and get a 9 count to advance.  Under the pressure, he struck out to advance by 2 pins.  Scores were Gaines 192 / Leyen 188 / and Althouse 186.    In the semi-finals, Leyen took on Gaines.  Leyen maintained a lead in this match and defeated Gaines 223-193.  In the other semi-final, Glinski took on Kennedy.  This match came down to the 10th frame.  Glinski needed to strike out to win and he did.  Glinski defeated Kennedy 219-209.  This setup the title match #1 vs #2.  Glinski vs Leyen.  Leyen got lined up early in the final match and outlasted Glinski for the title.  Leyen defeated Glinski 229-202 for the Major Win.  Leyen won $300 Major Top Prize Scholarship and Glass Bowling Pin Award.

In Handicap, Zachary Prizer won his 2nd PJBT in 2 weeks!  Prizer won his 1st Ever PJBT last week at Bowl-O-Rama in just his 1st ever competing event.  This week he made it 2 for 2.  He entered the tournament with a 143 average and 51 pins a game.  He shot scratch games of 137, 226, 190, 128, 156, and 146.  He stood at +89 after qualifying and was the tournament leader.  The 16th place first round cut for handicap was -96.  In Match Play, he went just 1-2 with games of 166, 121, and 127.  With that, he lost his lead in the event but still stood in 2nd place entering the finals.  He only trailed new tournament leader Breanne Hood.

The finalists were #1 Breanne Hood, #2 Zachary Prizer, #3 Alex Bonilla, #4 Kalli Bzdil, #5 Haley Schwenk, and #6 Brett Hillman.  In the first eliminator match it was Hood, Bonilla, and Hillman.  These matches were very exciting.  Every shot, every count was important because these matches were very close.  This match was decided by just 6 pins among 3 bowlers.  Bonilla shot 180 / Schwenk 179 and Hood was eliminated with 174.  In the other Round 1 eliminator, we saw Prizer / Bzdil / Hillman battle for top 2 spots.  Hillman shot 200 – while Prizer had 199 – Bzdil was eliminated with 191.  Again, this match was decided by just 9 pins among 3 bowlers.  In Round 2, Prizer took on Hillman.  Prizer shot his highest game of the day and won 256-182.  In the other round 2 match, Haley Schwenk defeated Kyle Bonilla 177-170.  The title match was #2 Prizer vs #5 Schwenk.  This match came down to the end.  Early…Schwenk had the lead and was in command.  However, Prizer never gave up.  He battled back to make the match even later and came away with the title.  Prizer shot 160 and Schwenk had 149 in the title match.  Prizer won $300 Top Scholarship Prize and Glass Bowling Pin.

We paid out extra scholarships to top finishing girls on this day.  Congrats also to Dawn Kleinspehn & Alexis Neuer for winning those.

No honor scores on this day were bowled.  Our 300 Pot of $136 carries over to next week.